A man who said he would harm children at his local national school so he would be remembered like Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass murderer who shot 69 people dead at a youth summer camp in 2011, has been given an 18-month suspended jail sentence.
Colm Feehily (30), from Kilroe, near Headford in Co Galway, asked armed gardaí to shoot him, as he wanted to die by “suicide by cop”, during the psychotic episode, in November 2016.
Feehily’s mother had called the Garda for help as he had stopped taking medication for his mental-health issues and might have weapons. A taser was used to subdue Feehily, but he continued to make threats. He was arrested and taken to the psychiatric unit at University Hospital Galway.
Feehily, who told hospital staff he could not remember making any threats, had previously been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder; once he was back on his medication he had become “pleasant and passive” again, according to his barrister.
Feehily pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court last November to threatening to cause serious harm to pupils at Kilroe National School; sentencing was adjourned until today to allow for psychiatric, psychological and probation reports to be prepared.
Judge Rory McCabe said Feehily was very unlikely to reoffend if he took his medications; he suspended the sentence for five years.